On Wednesday night, the WWE announced the launch of their network, which will debut on Monday, February 24. One of the bright spots of the network is if you purchase it, you will get all 12 pay-per-views this year including WrestleMania 30. We didn’t get a response from any cable or satellite providers until now.

In an article that was published in the Los Angeles Times, satellite company DirecTV told the paper it is considering dropping the WWE from their PPV schedule.

“Clearly we need to quickly re-evaluate the economics and viability of their business with us, as it now appears the WWE feels they do not need their PPV distributors,” DirecTV said in a statement, adding that the audience for its events “has been steadily declining, and this new low-cost competitive offering will only accelerate this trend.”

The Times talked to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon regarding how this affects the cable and satellite companies since they will be taking a hit monetarily.

“I think it’d be foolish for them not to want to carry the pay-per-view anymore,” McMahon said. “It’s found money for them.”

The WWE then released a statement in direct response to DirecTV.

“To the contrary, WWE hopes to continue to be in business with our pay-per-view distributors, ultimately giving our fans the choice between the two offerings.”

About Steve Muehlhausen

Steven was a featured UFC columnist for Bleacher Report and a writer for MMASucka.com. He was also the host of the MMA show "The Fight Club Chicago" which aired for three years at various websites. You can email Steve at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com.